Three Trains Before 10am
Day 7 was the big move south. Out of the Kanazawa Airbnb at 4:45am, the Thunderbird limited express to Kyoto with the sunrise over the fields, then the Shinkansen to Okayama, then a local train to Kurashiki. All on the JR Pass. We were at the hotel before 10am.
The Bikan Quarter
Kurashiki got rich in the Edo period as a rice town. The rice came in by boat along the canal, and the merchants built white-walled storehouses with black tiles along the water to store it. The storehouses are still there, now shops, cafés and museums, and the canal is lined with willows. They call it the Bikan Historical Quarter.
By Rickshaw
Then the best decision of the day: a rickshaw. The puller runs you through the main canal and off into the back lanes, telling you the history of each house (in Japanese, but with lots of pointing), and stops at all the best photo spots to take pictures of you. And you get to sit down in the heat while he does all the work.
Soba and Denim
Lunch was a set of cold soba with tempura. Then a soft serve in Kurashiki denim blue. Kurashiki and nearby Kojima are where Japanese jeans come from, so the denim theme is everywhere.
In the afternoon: Achi Shrine, Ivy Square and a wagyu dinner.
Information About Kurashiki
Old rice warehouses along a willow-lined canal, 10 minutes' walk from Kurashiki Station, which is 15 minutes from Okayama on the JR.